356A jack points

[Ron Dohmeyer]

I've read and reread threads and excellent article on this
Understand that I don't want to lift only one wheel
Understand to not use original jack
Understand to not use original jack point
I've purchased a 944 scissor jack and notched out hole in a 2x6x12 to use to spread contact
Question I still have is location and orientation of the wood?
Does the 12 inch go in direction of front to back of car? Or from side to side (door to door)?
Does the wood go under the original jack point? Or inboard of that point or on the longitudinal?
Any insight greatly appreciated, don't want to damage anything!
Thanks!
Ron

[Doug McDonnell]

https://porsche356registry.org/article/171 Inboard on your longitudinal will work provided they are solid. If you want to get fancy and spend some money then: http://www.precisionmatters.biz/jack-points.php Cheap when you consider the cost of bodywork. Not to mention designed and sold by a 356er with a pretty good mind.

[John Lindstrom]

Direction front to back of car, just inward from original jack point, the metal is strong like an I beam there. You could notch out your 2x6 for the jack point and inner floor panel. 3x4 would be better. Best would be to re-read Doug’s first link above and jack up both front and rear at the same time using those other jack points. Because these old cars rust from the inside out sometimes and the metal becomes very weak. Also you don’t want to do anything unsafe!

[Albert Tiedemann]

Jack only on the transmission hoop in the rear as the resulting vector is resisted by a symmetrical pair of high, strong points. Support on torsion bar tube with jack stands placed at angle to clear vertical sheet metal forming rear seat surface.

Jack only on the anti-sway bar "U" cover at the chassis in the front. This is the strongest lifting point. Precision Matters makes special jacking covers for these points. Not cheap! The car will lift unevenly unless you use my front end lift beam [also not cheap!!]. The latter allows you to lift the front end evenly and place jack stands under the lift beam. Interface points on lift beam are preset and interface exactly with the lifting points on the chassis. No need to raise wheels to get jack under car. Very stable when supported on the jack stands and a lot of room to work on car. Max deflection of beam in lift mode is <.005".

[Doug McDonnell]

I have a scissors jack with Hockey puck for on the road use in case of a flat. For garage use I have a Big Red jack http://www.torinjacksusa.com/bigred/big ... -jack.html that I use at the transmission hoop in the rear and with a 4 ft long 1x6 board/load spreader that I place at intersection of diagonal member and front bulkhead. For long term lifting I have a set of "boxes" my carpenter son made that support the car at the 4 corners of the floor allowing me great access. https://porsche356registry.org/article/99

[Ron Dohmeyer]

I have a scissors jack with Hockey puck for on the road use in case of a flat. For garage use I have a Big Red jack http://www.torinjacksusa.com/bigred/big ... -jack.html that I use at the transmission hoop in the rear and with a 4 ft long 1x6 board/load spreader that I place at intersection of diagonal member and front bulkhead. For long term lifting I have a set of "boxes" my carpenter son made that support the car at the 4 corners of the floor allowing me great access. https://porsche356registry.org/article/99

Thanks, so when you're on the road and use the pucks where do you position it?

[Doug McDonnell]

Precision matters jack points.

[Ron LaDow]

Precision matters jack points.

Doug, thank you for your kind words.
Those are deceptively simple parts with a lot of scrap (which is what drives costs in machining). They also got a lot of consideration to locate and design the mountings to avoid any harm in use and any possible failure
BTW, if you have (or your wrench has) a 2-post lift with swinging support arms, well they fit right there, too.

[Paul Giganti]

I just read this thread on the proper jack points. I had never heard that using the designed-in jack points was a No-No. I can understand not using the original jack except when absolutely necessary, but what's wrong with using a special jack-pad insert in the original location with a quality jack?

[Ron LaDow]

I just read this thread on the proper jack points. I had never heard that using the designed-in jack points was a No-No. I can understand not using the original jack except when absolutely necessary, but what's wrong with using a special jack-pad insert in the original location with a quality jack?

Rust.
The originals are cantilevered off the sides of one of the most rust-prone locations of the entire structure. The factory installed rust there before the car left the factory floor, and it has not gotten better since.
IF you have had the floor, 'tudes AND jack-spurs properly restored and IF you are certain of their structural integrity, Bob's your uncle.
Most of us don't have that confidence; misplaced confidence here gets spendy.

[Ron Dohmeyer]

A lot of good insight here, thanks, but if you're on the road with a flat and must chose the jack point on a 60 year old car with all the original parts, do you lift one wheel using a precision matters point or do you raise two wheels using a notched 3x4x12 under the factory jack point? Seems either choice has its drawbacks and not ideal!?

[Ron LaDow]

A lot of good insight here, thanks, but if you're on the road with a flat and must chose the jack point on a 60 year old car with all the original parts, do you lift one wheel using a precision matters point or do you raise two wheels using a notched 3x4x12 under the factory jack point? Seems either choice has its drawbacks and not ideal!?

Jacking one corner of an open car with rust issues might be a problem, but I've never had any issues getting one tire off the ground.

[Paul Giganti]

I have a '59 Cab that was extensively evaluated before I bought it by a very reputable old Porsche mechanic. He said the floor panels were in bad shape in places—yes I can see pavement—but that all the structurals were very solid including the outside frame, steering pieces, mounts, etc. I know the pan contributes to the overall rigidity of the car, but I've still pushed that car around corners about as fast as as my psyche would allow and had lots of fun without being scared to death. I hope to get to replacing the pan some time before my foot goes through to the ground. However, I do take extra care whenever I have to jack the car up. I prefer the the original jack point central position as I feel there's less chance of twisting my substantially unreinforced frame by lifting just one corner. However, I use the kind of jack point reinforcement mentioned earlier in this thread whenever I lift the car.